It looks as though the $700 billion pricetag for America’s bailout has finally gotten voter’s attention. 

Rasmussen Reports’ daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Sunday put Obama’s numbers at 50% to 44% for McCain. This matches Obama’s high water mark so far in the campaign with the six point advantage over McCain a new high. Only 11% of those polled say America is headed in the right direction, down from the 24% pollsters registered two weeks ago; and these numbers reflect views taken after Friday’s debate.

It appears growing numbers of Americans from both parties, but especially Republicans, are starting to realize good ol’ GWB’s fraud of a presidency is nothing but a house of cards and is collapsing faster than Lehman Brothers. This election is now Barack Obama’s to lose.

Iraq is an unwinnable quagmire, Afghanistan is sliding fast and now the economy is in the toilet and will be for several years. Bush will leave the country with a record deficit, and one of the primary creditors is also the world’s biggest communist country and America’s number one rival for global hegemony.

Could he possibly leave the Oval Office in any worse shape? (Look out Iran!!) 

Good luck to first-time home buyers who are scrimping to get a deposit together. If Merrill Lynch couldn’t get credit, what are your chances? Even if you do keep your job.

Russia and China no longer even pay lip service to the US. The Russians have Europe in a nat gas stranglehold and are moving with impunity to regain old Soviet turf and China is using its huge cash surplus to buy up every financial institution in desperate need of cash. Even Pakistan thumbs its nose at us and lets al Qaeda rebuild in its northwest provinces.

The comedy duo the GOP has put forward for the presidency look ready to fall flat on their face.  

McCains’s nonsensical behavior last week surrounding the bailout negotiations blew up in his face, and his performance in Friday’s debate did nothing to help his case. 

And what about his running mate? Chris Lacivita, a GOP strategist tried to be kind in commenting on the absent Mrs. Palin on Politico.com saying, “she ain’t Dick Cheney, nor Joe Biden and definitely not Hillary Clinton.” That’s being kind, imagine the Dem’s view.

Other than beating the bushes for money from the religious right, she’s hardly been an assett to McCain. Her debate with Joe Biden on Thursday will probably finish her.

Look for her to concoct an excuse about family issues or some emergency in Alaska requiring her to gracefully withdraw from the race a la Harriet Miers’ supreme court debacle. 

No doubt mainstream Republicans would sigh with relief to she her gone. McCain could then get his pal Joe Lieberman on the ticket, which is what he originally wanted anyway.  Its unlikely they could pull off a win, but at least McCain could regain some modicum of dignity.

Poor John McCain now has to keep his distance from both GWB and the vacuous Mrs Palin. He must truly feel he is flying with a dead stick, his only parachute being to lose this election with grace and dignity. And not burn any bridges to an ambassadorship Obama’s administration.

On the bright side for Republicans, W has left such the country in such a financial and moral mess,  its unlikely Obama can make much progress in only four years even with congress on his side. 

This will give them plenty of grist for criticism in the 2010 mid-terms and the big one in 2012.

Obama is criticised for appearing aloof and professorial, while some say McCain and Palin seem like more reasonable, down-to-earth types. Just like folks in your neighborhood who you could have cookout with or sit and have beers with at your local tavern.

Well, tell you what, next weekend have your neighbors over or go down to the local for the afternoon and when you get home, try to pick anyone you met or talked to who you’d want in the White House.  It’s a dumb argument.  

I want a person at the switch who actually showed up for 8 AM poli sci class, not the one who finished at the bottom of the class with a “gentlemen’s C”. I want the person who stays up all night studying not drinking at the frat house.

If only Bill Clinton had learned to keep his pants zipped, he’d be the model all others could strive to become.